Nova Scotia reports 34 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday

Nova Scotia reported 34new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the active number of cases to 173.

Of the new cases, 26 are in the northern zone and are all close contacts of previous cases.

There's an outbreakina tightly knitcommunity of largely unvaccinated people in the northern zone.Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang said Tuesday that most have mild to moderate symptoms. He declined to give further details about the affected community to avoid stigmatizing the group.

Seven of the new cases are in the central zone. Two are close contacts of previous cases, while five are under investigation.

There's one new case in the eastern zone, which is related to travel.

Four people are in hospital with COVID-19.

Labs in the province finished processing 4,016COVID-19 tests on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, 73.1 per cent of Nova Scotians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Postponing surgeries

Nova Scotia Health officials are postponing certain surgeriesas staff in the central and northern health zones cope with intense pressures on emergency departments. There are several factors behind this, but one is the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the northern zone.

Six new cases of COVID-19 were announcedWednesday, marking a dramatic drop from Tuesdaywhen 66 new cases were reported, and from Monday,when 73cases were reportedfrom over the weekend.

IWK vaccination clinic

A drop-in Pfizer-BioNTechvaccine clinic is happening Thursday and Fridaywithin the Goldbloom Pavilion of the IWKHealth Centre on University Avenue in Halifax. The clinic will be open to people 12 and above who are looking for their first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose. Post-secondary students, in particular, are encouraged to get their shots. The clinic is open from 8 a.m. AT to 4 p.m., both days.

Atlantic Canada case numbers

• New Brunswickreported 51 cases on Thursday. The province has 336 active cases and 15 people in hospital, nine in intensive care.
• Prince Edward Islandreported sevennew COVID-19 cases Thursday, all connected to a Charlottetown school outbreak. It has 34 active cases.
• Newfoundland and Labradorreported 10new cases Wednesday. The province has 49active cases.

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